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Is Vanguard US Growth Admiral (VWUAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard US Growth Admiral (VWUAX - Free Report) . VWUAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VWUAX. The Vanguard US Growth Admiral made its debut in August of 2001 and VWUAX has managed to accumulate roughly $26.64 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VWUAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.99% and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 12.38%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. VWUAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 27.1% compared to the category average of 20.57%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 23.85% compared to the category average of 18.14%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.16, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -1.75. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 87.08% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $297.18 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Retail Trade
Turnover is about 23%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, VWUAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.23% compared to the category average of 0.99%. From a cost perspective, VWUAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $50,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard US Growth Admiral ( VWUAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into VWUAX too for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is Vanguard US Growth Admiral (VWUAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard US Growth Admiral (VWUAX - Free Report) . VWUAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VWUAX. The Vanguard US Growth Admiral made its debut in August of 2001 and VWUAX has managed to accumulate roughly $26.64 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VWUAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.99% and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 12.38%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. VWUAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 27.1% compared to the category average of 20.57%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 23.85% compared to the category average of 18.14%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.16, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -1.75. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 87.08% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $297.18 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Retail Trade
Turnover is about 23%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than the average comparable fund.Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, VWUAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.23% compared to the category average of 0.99%. From a cost perspective, VWUAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $50,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard US Growth Admiral ( VWUAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into VWUAX too for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.